Chandra X-ray Observatory

Fig. 3.30. X-ray spectrum of the supernova remnant N49 in the LMC, aged between 5000 and 10 000 yr, taken with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer on board the Chandra X-ray Observatory, showing H-like and He-like K-shell lines of abundant light elements and some L-shell lines of iron, after Park et al. (2003).

Fig. 3.31. X-ray spectrum taken from the XMM-Newton and Chandra X-ray observatories of the inner part of the Centaurus cluster of galaxies, where the metallicity is roughly twice solar, showing the iron L- and K-shell features at energies of 1.2 and 6.8 keV repectively. The curve is a two-component fit to the continuum with temperatures of 0.7 and 1.5 keV. After Sanders and Fabian (2006). Courtesy Andy Fabian.

Pavlov, G. et al. (2001), The X-ray spectrum of the Vela pulsar resolved with the Chandra X-ray observatory , ApJ 552, L129. 

The second source for which it has been claimed the detection of redshifted spectral lines is IE 1207.4-5209, a radio-quite compact star located in the center of the supernova remnant PSK 1209-51/52. IE 1207.4-5209 has been observed by the Chandra X-ray observatory. Two absorption features have been detected in the source spectrum and have been interpreted (Sanwal et al. 2002) as spectral lines associated with atomic transitions of once-ionized helium in the atmosphere of a strong magnetized (B 1.5 x 1014 G) compact star. This interpretation gives for the gravitational redshift at the star surface z = 0.12 -0.23 (Sanwal et al. 2002), which is reported in Fig. 3 and by the two dashed lines labeled z = 0.12 and z = 0.23. 

X-ray emission from young, hot, shocked supernova remnants, as observed with NASA s Chandra X-Ray Observatory, confirm that core-collapse Type II supernovae are prolific nucleosynthesis sources of neon. 

Observations of the Orion nebular cluster by the Chandra X-ray observatory reveal the presence of frequent (one every 6 days), large (up to 0.5 AU), and highly energetic stellar flares (with inferred magnetic fields as large as 3000 G) (Favata et al. 2005). The duration of the flares varies from less than an hour to almost three... 

L.I. Podobedova, A. Musgrove, D.E. Kelleher, J. Reader, J. Fuhr, W.L. Wiese Atomic spectral data for the Chandra X-ray observatory, Parts I-IV, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data (in press) and... 

X-rays also generally have energies measured in units of keV for astronomical and elemental analyses, and occupy wavelengths between 5 x 10 and 1 X 10 m. Orbiting x-ray observatories include the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the XMM-Newton, and the recently launched Suzaku (Astro-E2) observatory. X-rays are produced by the intense gravitational interaction of gas falling into such objects as neutron stars and black holes. Another source of x-rays are supernova remnants. 

Heffner, K., Davidson, G., 2004. Performance as promised how the Chandra X-ray Observatory accomplished one of NASA s most challenging missions for billions of dollars less than originally planned. In AIAA-2004-5935, Space 2004 Conference, San Diego, CA, September 28-30. 

Myers, F.R., Jackson, W.C., Shropshire, D.P., Viens, P.R., 2008. Chandra X-ray observatory long term flight software maintenance minimizing overall program risk on an evolving spacecraft. In AIAA-2008-3290, SpaceOps Conference, Heidelberg, Germany, May 12-16. 

FIGURE 5 Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Cas A supernova remnant. The point source at the center of the image is beiieved to be either a neutron star or biack hoie produced by the supernova expiosion. [Credit NASA/CXC/SAO.]... 

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